Casdem: A Pokemon Journey
by EclecticLion
Summary: REVISED VERSION IS NOW POSTED AS POKEMON: CASDEM CHRONICLES! I will NOT be accepting anymore OCs at this point! This story is hereby officially DISCONTINUED so I will not be posting anything here anymore! Check out the re-vised version if you want to! :D
1. The Journey Begins

**Chapter 1: The Journey Begins**

My eyes snapped open a second before my alarm went off. I quickly slammed the off button and jumped out of bed bursting with energy.

Ten years old. I could finally start my journey. It was the only thing I talked about for the past month, well known to my parents.

I had already laid out my training clothes last night making sure it was perfect. It took some time but I finally decided on a black tee and my favorite pair of jeans paired with one of my many purple sweaters. Matching that with a new pair of black sneakers with purple streaks along the side and I was ready. I quickly changed out of my pajamas and into everything else and stood in front of my mirror.

"Today's the day," I said to my reflection. With an affirmative nod I grabbed my brush and ran it through my long brown hair. It usually decides to tangle itself in impossible knots most nights, but luckily today it wasn't as impossible. As I ran my brush through my hair I stared at my face in the mirror. I even looked older. Maybe it didn't appen in one night but I'm certain that I lost at least some baby fat over the years. My mom always says i looked sophisticated for my age.

Really, I'm just thankful I got most of my mom's genes. My dad's squarish head probably wouldn't fit too well with my petite body. Although, one thing I am glad I got from him are his blue eyes. Thankfully the rest of my genes are purely girl.

Once my hair was free of tangles I quickly pulled it into a ponytail and headed downstairs to the kitchen where my mom was. She looked up from the sink when I came down the stairs and smiled brightly.

"Good morning, Melanie," she said. She had an apron on over a yellow summer dress with her hair looking exactly like mine. She had already made some pancakes and slid the plate my way before turning back to the sink. I took a seat and grabbed a pancake from my plate.

"Oh, and use a fork please," my mom said without turning around. "That's why it's on a plate."

The pancake flopped over inches from my opened mouth. I shut it and dropped the pancake back on my plate. There really was no getting past my mom for anything, even bad table manners.

I quickly cut my pancakes into squares and drizzled some syrup onto them. Shoveling in two bits at a time i hummed to myself and playfully kicked my legs back and forth. My mom looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and chuckled.

"So, are you excited?" My mom asked from the sink.

"I'm _so_ excited!"

"I can see that," she laughed. There was a short pause and then she put down her wash towel and turned around to face me, her hands resting on the edge of the sink. She gave me a stern mother look and said, "Now, of course, a pokémon journey is a very exciting thing. But you have to keep your wits about you out there in the real world. We can't be there phsically with you nut, know that we support you every step of the way." I nodded and continued chewing. As touching and inspiring as her speech was she'd been giving it the past few days.

"I know mom," i mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes.

"Now, the most important thing," she continued, barely pausing "is that you stay safe." She was so caught up in her speech she probably didn't even hear me. I chuckled and swallowed my last bite of pancake. "Always remember that you always have to—"

"Be careful," I finished. She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, careful. I know you know about pokémon through your dad, but that doesn't excuse caution."

"I know, mom."

She finally paused for a long while and then a faint smile crossed her face, although it conflicted with her slightly saddened eyes. It only lasted for a second though before her face lit up with a grin and she nodded.

"I know you do, dear," she said finally turning back to the dishes.

I know it was must be hard for her to let me go out on my own journey but, dad had his full confidence in me which balanced out all of the concerns she had in the end. I sat looking out the kitchen window when i realized something.

"Hey, where is dad anyway?"

"Oh, he said he had to help at the Park really quick."

"But he'll be back before I leave, right?" I asked frowning.

"Yes. He promised he would be," she said with a reassuring smile.

My dad worked as a ranger at a local Pokémon Park. He tended to the animals and sometimes let me help out with the pokémon. He loved pokémon and could occasionally lose track of time over at the park. But when it comes to promises he never breaks them.

I nodded and rested my chin in my hand, my elbow probbed on the table. Not even a second later the door creaked open and my dad's bright voice could be heard from the front room.

"Where's my birthday girl?" he shouted from the doorway. I beamed and jumped out of my chair and ran to the door.

"Dad!" I shouted back. I leapt into one of his bear hugs and he swung me back and forth.

"Happy birthday, Melly," he said after setting me down. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and grinned.

"Thanks, dad," I said. I closed the door as he passed to kiss my mom on the cheek. I followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

"So, when are you taking off?" my dad asked settling into a chair across from me.

"As soon as I finish packing I'm good to go," I said cheerfully. My mom gave me one of those mother looks and put a hand on her hip.

"Sweetie," she started. "Why didn't you finish yesterday?"

"She was too excited," my dad reasoned with a wave of his hand, brushing it off. He turned to me and added, "But you _should_ get started on that. You want to leave early if you want to make it to the next town and have enough time to find a place to stay, ya know."

My dad always the aoutritive voice in our house, my mom agreed with my dad with a nod and I went to my room to finish packing my bag. I had already saved enough money to buy a decent supply of potions and pokéballs. I even had some money left over. My mom bought me a new jacket for cooler weather and gave me emergency money for anything I might need along the way. My dad supplied me with his old camping supplies and got me my own sleeping bag. Take all that and add on my extra clothes and my over-sized green camping bag was just half full.

The bag I really wanted was the newest trainer's bag from Santeal City's Derek Marquee, youngest designer and millionaire in the history of our region. In fact, he was voted Casdem's Most Successful Teen last year and didn't fall short in the looks department either. It was because of this that the Marquee line of trainer's apparel was so high on demand and "extremely and irrationally expensive" in my dad's words. So that's how I ended up with a monster of a bag that was "essential for my item-carrying needs", again in my dad's words.

I set my sleeping bag on top of my clothes and shuffled downstairs, my bag clonking against my back with each step. My parents were waiting at the bottom and my mom put her hands to her mouth. "You look so grown up," she said between her fingers, more to herself than anything. I know it was hard for her to part with her only daughter and I smiled for support while my dad wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Well, I guess I'm ready then," I said shrugging the back -pack straps into place. I stepped toward the door when my dad placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Hold on a second, you didn't think we didn't get you a present, did you?" he said with a smile. He looked at my mom and she her face lit up as if she had forgot all about it and had just remembered. She returned a smile before heading for the sliding door that leads to the back yard.

"Oh, you didn't have to," I said shaking my head slightly. "You guys letting me go on my own pokémon journey is a great birthday gift in itself." I didn't mention that we weren't all that rich and after all of the supplies they bought me I didn't want them to concern over presents as well.

"Nonsense," he said waving his hands. Just then, my mom called from outside.

"Melanie, close your eyes!" she said practically overflowing with excitement. I closed my eyes and mentally shrugged. I could hear shuffling footsteps when my dad said, "okay, open them!"

I opened my eyes and saw a brown box sitting on the floor in front of me. A lid covered the top of it with Melanie written in my mom's fancy lettering. Along the sides of the box and on the lid were groups of finger-sized holes. I already knew what it was.

"Are you serious?" I asked kneeling down in front of the box.

"Happy birthday, Melanie," they said at the same time, their arms around each other. I looked down at the box, excitement welling up inside me. What type was it? Was it a male or female? I couldn't wait any longer.

I carefully lifted the lid a smidge and peered inside. A tiny tongue licked my nose and in a split second something brown and furry jumped out of the box and into my arms.

"Oh, my gosh! It's adorable!" I squealed hugging the little eevee that was nuzzling up against my stomach.

"The other rangers and I found this little guy wandering in the forest two weeks back. We figured someone must have lost him," he said with a frown. He pushed up his glasses and continued. "We waited as long as we could to see if anyone would come looking for it, but no one showed. Some trainer must've not been able to take care of it and decided to let it free. Unfortunately it's still a little young and can't fend for itself.

"But, when it came down to who would take care of the little guy if no owner came to claim him everyone else said they didn't have time to take care of such a young pokémon. So, I offered to take him and immediately I thought that this young pokémon needed a young trainer."

I beamed hugging the eevee in my arms. My dad smiled and was quiet for a second before continuing. "Someone who I know will take good care of him."

"So, we both agreed," my mom continued, "that the trainer best suited for the job would be you."

"This is awesome! My first pokémon! And it's an eevee, too," I said excitedly as the little fox licked my cheek. I stood up and hugged each of my parents, thanking them in turn, with my eevee staying close by my legs.

"You're very welcome, dear," my mom said.

"Are you going to name the little fella?" my dad added.

"Hmmm," I muttered. I looked at him and he stared at me with big, brown eyes and cocked his head.

"ueee?" it purred questioningly. I smiled.

"I think I'll name him Fen," I concluded.

"That's wonderful, honey," agreed my mom. My dad nodded and checked his watch.

"Well," he said. "It's about time you and Fen should be heading off, I think. Don't want to take off in the dark." He smiled sadly and opened his arms for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and he lifted me up again rocking me one more time. I turned to my mom and hugged her swaying gently back and forth. Fen ran impatiently around our hugging circle, now and then bumping into me. When we were done I stepped back and nodded with a sad smile.

"We love you, Melanie," my dad said. He propped an arm around my mom's shoulders.

"I love you both, too."

"Remember you can come back anytime you need to, sweetie," my mom added with a slightly concerned look.

"I know. Bye," I said over my shoulder heading out the door. They followed me to the front porch steps and watched as I walked down our pathway to the road.

"Bye, honey! Have fun!" my dad called excitedly.

"_Safe _fun!" my mom quickly added.

"There's no other way! Bye!" I called out again. I waved until I turned a corner and couldn't see them anymore. I stuck my hand in my pocket and looked around at some of the houses on our street. I sure was going to miss this place.

Fen walked alongside me and looked up at me expectantly, for what I didn't know.

"I have to tell you I'm a little nervous," I said glancing down at him. "From this point on, we're on our own Fen." His ears perked up. He yipped cheerfully and trotted ahead, stopping to smell a patch of flowers.

I smiled and shook my head. Maybe I should be more like him. Who knows what lies ahead? I should just enjoy it while it comes.


	2. First Encounters

**Chapter 2: First Encounters**

I let out a low whistle as we stood at the edge of town. A wooden sign was nailed to a post reading 'Route 1' in bold lettering on one side and 'Lontree' on the other for visitors coming in.

"Route 1, huh?" I looked over my shoulder at the entrance to our town and took a deep breath. I let it out slowly and turned back to the dirt road inches from my feet. It's now or never.

"You ready?" I asked Fen. He looked up at me with those big, brown eyes and purred happily. "Then let's get to it," I said clenching my hands into fists and striding onto the path. I didn't take two steps before a voice rang out from the field nearby.

"Ahhh! Oh, no! Ahhh, help!"

"Hello? Where are you?" I called out looking over the shoulder-high grass in the field. Fen jumped in front of me and flicked his ears this way and that, searching for the source.

"O-over here!" the voice managed to respond. The person fell into a coughing fit and I followed Fen as he ran into the tall grass following the noise.

We pushed our way through the grass until we came upon a small clearing. Immediately I could see the person calling for help. At the edge of the clearing a boy, who seemed about my age, was crouched next to a tree covering his head with a book. About four pidgeys flapped around his head and would now and then drop to kick dirt in his face.

"Oh! Uh, don't worry, we'll help you," I assured the boy. The pidgeys turned their heads toward me and cooed angrily as if I was barging into a private party.

"Okay, Fen," I said bending my knees into a ready position. "You ready for our first battle?"

"Ueee." Determination was written all over his furry face. He looked ready to take on a charizard. I smirked and pointed at the pidgeys who had quickly lost interest in us.

"Hey! Why don't you..? Uh, fight someone your own size?" I said less dramatically than I wanted it to be. "That sounded better in my—whoa!"

I ducked as a pidgey had shot away from the group and dived dangerously close to my head. I straightened up and pulled my ponytail tighter. Time to get down to business; we had a kid to save.

Actually, this was a great opportunity to test where Fen and I stood as a team.

"Let's go Fen," I said. Just after I spoke the pidgey dove in for another close call and landed a few yards away from us.

"Fen, tackle!" I shouted pointing at the little bird in the grass.

"Ueeeee!" Fen let out his best battle cry as he ran to tackle the little bird pokémon head on. At the last second the pidgey took off into the air, just out of Fen's reach.

"Sand attack!"

Fen used his momentum from his missed tackle to kick some sand upward. The sand engulfed the little pidgey. It cooed frantically from within the dust cloud and drifted awkwardly to the ground unable to see.

"Now, Fen! Tackle it!" I told him punching the air. We've got it now!

Fen charged at the downed bird and jumped just as the dust settled. The pidgey cocked its head toward the direction where Fen was running at it and then, in what seemed like a split second, the pidgey kicked sand into the direction of Fen and shot into the air again. Fen shut his eyes from the sand and skidded to a stop.

"Uee!" he cried out.

The pidgey wasted no time in counter-attacking. It swooped down from the sky and stooped down for a dive straight toward Fen.

"Fen, above!"

His ear twitched and he rolled off to the side to avoid the diving pidgey. The pidgey flapped its wings to stop its dive and hovered above the spot where Fen just was.

That was our chance.

"Now!"

Fen collided with the pidgey, knocking it into the tall grass with a soft rustle and thump. Fen stood with his haunches raised, ready to pounce if it came out again. There was another rustle as the pidgey hobbled out of the grass. It stood with its head held high before it cooed weakly and collapsed onto its side.

This was it.

I fumbled for the little red and white ball attached to my belt and clicked the button to enlarge it then hastily threw it at the pidgey. The ball burst open and a stream of red light erupted from the capsule and surrounded the pidgey. In a flash of red the pidgey disappeared within the ball and the capsule fell to the ground.

"Come on," I whispered. The ball wobbled back and forth, a faint red light emitted from the button.

"Come on," I whispered again. It's so close.

The ball was still before a clear click resonated from within and the light faded.

I stood in disbelief then broke out in a smile and punched the air. I jogged over to the ball and held it high in the air triumphantly. The other pidgey witnessed the fight and were now in a frenzy. With their final pecks at the boy they flew into the air and, with a final cloud of dust, took off over the tall grass and disappeared.

"Yes! Fen we did it! Our first battle _and _first catch! All in one!" I ran over to Fen and scooped him up in my arms along with the ball. He nuzzled against my chest and licked my cheek. "You were great! That was so awesome! We were so cool!"

"Uee Ueeee!" Fen cheered on with me. I jumped up and down holding Fen close to my chest.

"Um, I hate to interrupt but, could I get a little help?"

"Oh! I'm sorry," I apologized. I attached my newly captured pidgey to my belt and jogged over to the boy sitting cross-legged on the ground. I knelt on the balls of my feet in front of him with Fen resting on my knees. His eyes were shut tight and he rubbed at them with the palms of his hands to no avail. His short, dirty-blonde hair and clothes were dusted with sand and dirt. Small scratches covered his face and arms and I winced.

"Um, are you okay?" I started lamely. I really couldn't think of much else. He just laughed and shrugged looking at me with closed eyes.

"I've been better," he chuckled. He glanced around although he clearly couldn't see and asked, "Do you see a book anywhere? It's brown and leather-bound. A pidgey just yanked it right out of my hand," he said waving a hand to emphasize while the other still rubbed at his eyes.

I glanced around and spotted it not far off. As I stood up Fen hopped off of my lap and next to the boy. He sniffed his leg and sat staring at this new person.

The book lay open on the ground and getting closer to it I saw that it was actually a sketchbook with something drawn on the page it was open to. Picking it up, I looked over the drawing with awe.

"Wow," I whispered. It was a black and white drawing of a ponyta grazing in a meadow dotted with wild flowers. On the accompanying page a meowth was curled up on a rug with a ball of yarn resting beneath its paw. They were both so realistic I felt like both pokémon might've moved any second.

"Oof! Hey, wha—," the boy said in surprise. I glanced back to see that Fen had jumped onto the boy's lap deciding he wanted to know the stranger better. One paw was on the boy's dusty gray t-shirt as Fen sniffed his face. "Is this your pokémon?"

"Yeah, that's Fen. Sorry about that," I said referring to Fen's pounce.

"Oh, it's fine. He just surprised me," he said with a laugh. He blinked his eyes briefly before shutting them again. "Ah, that stings," he muttered before rubbing them again. "So, what kind of pokémon is it?"

"An eevee," I replied taking a seat across from the boy.

"Oh, wow. Don't see many of those, do you?" He pat Fen on the head.

"I don't think so. My dad found him abandoned at the park in Lontree. I guess someone couldn't take care of him," I said with a shrug. It didn't help that he couldn't see me though.

"You from Lontree?"

"Yep, I just left for my pokémon journey awhile ago. Then we heard you call and here we are," I said with another shrug. Kept forgetting he couldn't see me.

"Oh, I forgot to thank you for that," he said jutting out a hand in my general direction. Fen was now sitting comfortably in his lap looking at his hand. "Wes Williams."

I took a hold of his out-stretched palm. "Melanie Bates," I said as we shook hands.

"Pleasure," he said with a slight tip of his head. I smiled.

Once we dropped our hands he went back to blinking and rubbing his eyes. He could use some water. I swung off my bag and felt around for my canteen. I found it wedged within my unraveled sleeping bag. Honestly I had more than enough room in this thing.

"Here," I said putting it in his hand. "Rinse out your eyes, you'll be much better."

"Great, thanks." He poured some water into a cupped hand and splashed it onto his face. Fen crawled out of his lap and into mine once a drop hit his nose. We sat quietly while Wes rinsed his eyes when I remembered his sketchbook.

"Oh, here's your sketchbook," I said leaning it against his leg, out of the way of the dripping water.

"Thanks," he said again.

"It was opened on a couple of drawings. Did you do those?" I asked resting my chin in my hand.

"Yeah, some of them are my old works and some are as recent as yesterday," he said blinking once more then splashing more water. "Gosh, they got it in there good," he murmured.

"They're really good. They're so realistic, I felt like they would move off of the page."

He laughed again. He had a really nice laugh I was beginning to notice. It made me want to laugh along with him. "Thanks," he said, "although without my dad I wouldn't have the pokémon to draw in the first place.

"I actually came out here to draw some wild pokémon for a change. I love the pokémon my dad raises back at the lab but, I wanted a change of pace. I guess I got to close," he said gesturing at his face.

"Your dad works at a lab?"

"Works? No, he owns it. He studies pokémon but, he's especially interested in eggs. Absolutely fascinated by them."

"Cool, that must be pretty neat."

"Yeah, it is. Especially since I love drawing pokémon," he added. He blinked again and squinted at his hands in front of him. "Hey, I can keep my eyes open!" He looked at me with squinted eyes and a scrunched face. "Well, mostly."

I laughed and held up a couple fingers. "How many?"

"Um, three?"

"Nope."

"Four."

"Nope, you're getting colder."

"Eleven," he said nodding his head with a broad smile.

"I said colder!" I laughed. "And I don't even have eleven fingers!" Fen looked back and forth between us two and curled up in my lap with his head resting on his paws.

"You could be using a toe," Wes pointed out. I shook my head with a roll of my eyes.

"Fine, let's try this." I stuck out my tongue and crossed my eyes. "Wha my doin?" I asked trying to talk with my tongue out of my mouth.

"Licking something!" he said snapping his finger.

"Close enough!" I said with a laugh. I widened my eyes and put my hands on top of my head like ears. "Now?"

"Picking your nose," he said nodding intelligibly.

I snorted. "Gross, no!" I chuckled as he scratched his head.

"Are you sure? I could've sworn," he muttered.

"Yes, I'm positive. Alright, last one," I added with a laugh. "Just open your eyes all the way at once, kind of like—"

"Ripping off a bandage," he finished.

"Exactly," I said nodding. This time I closed my eyes and smiled, clasping my hands together and resting them beneath my chin. "What about now?"

Wes didn't answer. I waited another moment before saying his name again.

"What? Oh, uh, you're smiling with your eyes closed," he said in a rush. I opened my eyes to see a pair of light green eyes staring back at me. I smiled even wider.

"Told ya! Just like a bandage!"

He cleared his throat and smiled along with me. "Yeah, you were right! Thanks!"

"Don't mention it. It was nothing," I said with a shrug. Fen looked up at Wes who was now standing up and brushing his jeans and green jacket free of dirt. Then he offered me his hand and pulled me up. Fen hopped off before I stood and stretched his legs.

"Well, I guess we'll be off then," I said looking at Fen. "You ready, Fen?"

"Uee," he purred nodding.

"You know," Wes started. He rubbed the back of his neck, "My dad's lab is just past the Calden Town on route 2. You should come and visit if you get the chance." He smiled and ran his hand through his hair. "If you want that is."

I smiled. I'd never been in a lab before. "That sounds great. Would you show me around?" I asked.

"No, I have to head down to Lontree for a bit. I just remembered my dad ordered a package and it was delivered to the wrong pokémart. I have to go pick that up."

"Well, then hopefully I'll see you at your dad's lab then."

"Yeah, I'll show you around then."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah," he said trailing off.

"Mmm-hmm."

There was a short silence where Fen glanced from Wes to me.

Wes cleared his throat. "So, I'll see you when I see you then."

"Yeah. It was nice meeting you," I said extending my hand.

"Same here! See ya," he said gripping it with his own hand. We shook before turning and heading opposite ways.

When we were back on the trail and out of hearing distance Fen glanced up at me from the ground and cocked his head. He stared up at me for a long while as I tried to pretend I didn't notice.

"So, we caught our first member of the team today," I said tapping the pokéball on my waist. Fen was silent and continued to look at me.

"Uee?" he purred.

"What?" I said glancing down briefly.

He just stared at me.

"What?" I trained my eyes forward.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fen close his eyes and smile a little fox smile before purring happily and swaying his tail. He pranced ahead bobbing his head back and forth.

"Oh, what do you know?" I said rolling my eyes.

But I couldn't help but smile.


End file.
